State Plan

The State Plan provides a vision for the future that will preserve and enhance the quality of life for all residents of New Jersey. The State Plan is the result of a cross-acceptance process that included thousands of New Jersey citizens in hundreds of public forums, discussing all of the major aspects of the plan - its goals, strategies, policies and application. This process ensures that the plan belongs to the citizens of New Jersey, whose hopes and visions have shaped it.

The State Development and Redevelopment Plan provides a balance between growth and conservation by designating planning areas that share common conditions with regard to development and environmental features:

Areas for Limited Growth: Fringe Planning Areas (Planning Area 3), Rural Planning Areas (Planning Area 4), and Environmentally Sensitive Planning Areas (Planning Area 5). In these planning areas, planning should promote a balance of conservation and limited growth—environmental constraints affect development and preservation is encouraged in large contiguous tracts.

The State Plan Policy Map reflects these planning polices graphically. Therefore, the State Plan Policy Map serves as the underlying land use-planning and management framework that directs funding, infrastructure improvements, and preservation for programs throughout New Jersey. Simply stated the State Development and Redevelopment Plan with the State Plan Policy Map is a dynamic vision of New Jersey's development and conservation patterns. With that in mind, the State Planning Commission incorporates new data from state agencies, counties and municipalities on an ongoing basis.

Inter-Agency Coordination

The State Planning Commission coordinates the policies of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan with the following state agencies: